Brandywine Trail Feasibility Study
Borough of South Coatesville, Chester County, PA

KAIROS is working with the Borough to develop ways to improve its community and to provide amenities for a regionally growing population. One of the areas of focus is trail amenities and alternative means of transportation that are consistent with the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative Smart Transportation Project. In 2011 KAIROS was commissioned by the Borough to work on a Brandywine Trail Feasibility Study initiative, locally known as “The Mill Trail”. The purpose of the Brandywine Trail Feasibility Study is to determine appropriate locations and ways to provide a pedestrian trail connection that would link to the City of Coatesville with a connection to the city’s riverwalk project and then continue south along the Brandywine Creek and physically connect the City of Coatesville, through the Borough of South Coatesville, to Modena Borough.

The Mill Trail focuses on “emphasizing context sensitive design elements” by respecting the transitional path from the urban nature of the City of Coatesville to the more rural elements of South Coatesville and the Borough of Modena. Contextual elements considered include such things as the natural features associated with the Brandywine Creek, wildlife and aquatic habitats/corridors, pedestrian and vehicular transportation connections, the influence of the Arceler Mittal Steel holdings and their historical impacts. Since the portion of the trail that traverses the Borough of South Coatesville will be intertwine with the urban and rural fabrics of the borough, there will be enhanced opportunities to create connections with the pedestrian walking system, the athletic running/jogging connections and the cycling community. The trail will provide a series connections between existing and proposed destinations such as the Coatesville Riverwalk, the Brandywine Creek, Southdowns, the proposed Town Centre Development, the existing Arceler Mittal Steel complex, and the future vision for “The Avenue” core mixed use area.